Shin Megami Tensei Reincarnated For Android, Still Only In Japanese

Atlus brought Shin Megami Tensei to iOS in February. Now you can get the Super Famicom classic on Android devices too.

Shin Megami Tensei for Android is a port of Game Boy Advance release complete with a virtual controller. The bad news is it’s not localized even though the entry on Google Play is in English. If you have Android device with OS 2.2 or higher and aren’t intimidated by Japanese text you can get Shin Megami Tensei for $10.06.

It honestly has nothing to do with whether or not Atlus USA is feeling kind. Considering the controversial religious content in the game, chances are that this will never see the light of day in North America.

The niche appeal of the genre and the somewhat archaic gameplay don’t help matters.

$36598391

Lots of other games are heavy on religious content

Tom_Phoenix

Even if other games have religious elements, I seriously don’t think they are quite as steeped in religion as SMT is. Furthermore, most other games most certainly don’t potray a real-life widespread religion in a preety negative light.

cj_iwakura

SMT1 is just as controversial as Devil Survivor is, which is pretty dang ballsy.

Barrylocke89

Indeed. Both games have you fighting angels for the sake of religion, but neither has you directly going against YHVH/God. If this was SMT2/MT2 we were talking about, then I could see religious contreversy being a factor. As it is now, I still think it’s because the most recent versions of the games (VC, iOS, Android) are direct ports of the original instead of full-fledged remakes, and the programmers don’t want to mess with the old coding any more than they have to.

malek86

I think the religious problems were for the 90′s. Nowadays, it probably wouldn’t have much trouble. But like you said, the archaic gameplay doesn’t help.

Tom_Phoenix

I don’t see why the controversial elements in SMT would be any less problematic today as they were back then.

That said, even if those elements weren’t a problem, the game’s age, archaic gameplay and niche appeal don’t make it a very compelling investment. Besides, there’s already a high quality fan translation of the game available.

malek86

Because sensibilities have changed thanks to the growth of the industry. Think for example of how Soldier of Fortune was controversial for its violence, when today it would be absolutely normal.

If The Binding of Isaac was allowed, I’m pretty sure SMT could be too.

Tom_Phoenix

Funny you should mention The Binding of Isaac, since that game was blocked by Nintento from coming to the 3DS due to “questionable religious content“. SMT is arguably much worse.

malek86

@Tom_Phoenix:disqus BOI was rejected because the developers had asked Nintendo themselves to publish it, since it was supposed to be a downloadable title (much like how they asked Microsoft to publish Super Meat Boy). I guess they didn’t want to ask an external publisher. But I think Nintendo, especially the american branch, is a lot less lenient than other publishers.

McMillen already said that the remake will appear on consoles too (he wouldn’t specify which ones), so we know the game is coming.

malek86

Because sensibilities have changed thanks to the growth of the industry. Think for example of how Soldier of Fortune was controversial for its violence, when today it would be absolutely normal.

If The Binding of Isaac was allowed, I’m pretty sure SMT could be too.

imaguni

And P2 Innocent Sin, a pretty niche title itself despite Persona 3 and 4′s popularity, had “Fuhrer” and gameplay from a previous gen. I don’t think the chances are that high myself, but it would be great to see the game out in English.

malek86

Even if I could read japanese, it’s region locked apparently… says it can’t be installed in my country :/

http://Gematsu.com/ Bruno Silva

I already went ahead and got the Japanese version on my iPod. Love this series!

Hinataharem

We will never get this game in English…T_T

EDIT I mean, in official localized English. Especially the remakes

Hidayat246

i think atlus only like porting game to other platform rahter than full remake games

Video game stories from other sites on the web. These links leave Siliconera.